


old habits die hard

by obscurityofphylum



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drug Abuse, Fluff, M/M, Nightmare, Relapse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obscurityofphylum/pseuds/obscurityofphylum
Summary: klaus's nightmares always got the best of him.
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 1
Kudos: 50





	old habits die hard

dad, let me out! please, don't leave me! 

klaus awoke with jolt, slick with sweat and tears. he rubbed his temples with shaky hands, gazing around his bedroom with bloodshot eyes. his veins itched for new poison to devour, and every breath felt like a forest fire in his lungs. dave stirred next to him, before settling back down into sleep. 

with trembling legs, klaus got up, careful to avoid the creaky floorboards of his childhood home. supporting himself along the wall, he trudged to the bathroom, grimacing at the flourescent light. he looked worse than he thought. 

his eyes were hollow and rimmed with purple rings of exhaustion, pupils big enough to swallow his entire iris. he was so used to seeing his pupils as pinpricks from being high as a kite that he almost didn't recognize himself at first. 

he was skinnier than ever, scrawny form clad in only one of dave's tee shirts and boxer shorts, bones still managing to jut out from underneath the loose clothing. his ribs formed mountains underneath his pale flesh, his caved stomach a valley on his abdomen. 

klaus sighed softly, his headache buzzing eagerly in his brain as he went against his better judgement, pale, shaky hands traveling to the medicine cabinet's latch with a hairpin clutched in his fist. the fire was starting. he could always tell when it would. sleeping calmed it down a little bit, but it always reignited after he woke up.

withdrawals weren't just pain that sat dormant anymore. it was like that in his teenage years, when he wasn't so far down the rabbit hole. now, they were the one thing klaus feared more than the ghosts.

terrible, burning headaches that prevented any kind of sleep and felt like a screwdriver getting plunged into his skull over and over. aching muscles that grew worse with every movement. 

nausea. sitting on the ground in front of the toilet for hours, retching pathetically as his stomach emptied nothing but bile. the hunger gnawed at his abdomen still, tormenting him despite his inability to keep anything down.

the medicine cabinet's lock finally gave way, revealing bottle upon bottle of pain relievers, cough syrup, and the last few tiny plastic baggies of narcotics that diego had seized off of him the last time diego demanded to let him search. 

klaus, practically in a dream-like state of hunger, got ready to tear into the selection as his eyes flicked over each item. if his pupils weren't completely casting a shadow over every corner of his smooth, green irises, they certainly were now.

he grasped the first thing he saw, an orange pharmacy pill bottle with a label he didn't recognize. he tore off the cap easily, white tablets greeting him from the container. 

footsteps echoed in the hallway. klaus quickly popped a couple in his mouth, racing to return the bottle to its spot on the shelf.

"klaus?" dave asked sleepily. he looked up, observing the scene in front of him. the smaller man was still screwing the cap back onto the pharmacy bottle, but now he looked up like a deer in headlights.

"klaus." dave said, less sleepily and more demanding. klaus shrunk into himself, the pills still dissolving on his tongue. 

"spit them out. now." dave said, crossing his arms. klaus cocked an eyebrow confusedly.

"here's the deal. you either spit them out and come back to bed with me and we talk through this, or you take them and i go get the car keys and we go to rehab right now. it's your choice." dave said, eyes watching his lover like a hawk. klaus was yet to say anything. 

"please. i don't want to have to do this." dave said, stepping closer. klaus backed up a few inches, more out of instinct than anything. 

"sink. spit them out." dave repeated. klaus groaned. 

"i'll get diego in here if you don't want to do it by yourself." he threatened, and klaus scowled before obediently spitting the pills out into the sink, turning on the water to flush them down the drain. 

"good job, sweetheart. come on, let's get you back in bed. you're tired." dave praised, and klaus would've melted if it weren't for how angry he was. his skin was burning off, dave didn't understand how much he needed something to distract him, and the threat of rehab was terrifying.

rehab is a place klaus wants to forget. he remembers being newly sixteen, checked into the facility by his father. he remembers pacing for hours in a bedroom that looked more like a jail cell, yelling curses and screaming at the top of his lungs to nurses who weren't paid enough to care about how bad the pain was or that he just needed something. 

when he got home a week later, he had his first overdose. he snorted nearly everything he could find in his room and had three seizures in the span of a couple hours. each time he came to, it was a different setting: once alone, once with diego and allison, and the next in the infirmary with mom and diego. 

"i need you to understand that i'm trying to help you. please, baby." dave begged, pulling klaus back to the present. a forced, weak smile spread across klaus's face but didn't meet his eyes, resisting the urge to recoil at dave's touch that sent lightning strikes down his skin.

it didn't take long for dave to drift back to sleep, arm draped around klaus's waist. klaus spent nearly an hour moving milimeters away every few minutes, trying to leave without waking his love up. finally, slipping out of bed, he held his breath as dave stirred before falling back asleep, his breathing light and even. he looked perfect, even sleeping; his lips were slightly parted, letting soft, quiet snores escape from him, messy blonde hair contrasting against tanned skin. klaus took a mental picture of the scene in front of him.

once again, like deja-vu, he tiptoed to the bathroom, this time even more careful with each sound of a rattling pill or bottle. he held six white tablets inches in front of his face, ready to devour them, when he jumped from fear.

strong arms wrapped around his torso, pulling him away from the bathroom counter and onto the floor. klaus screamed bloody murder, kicking and flailing as the pills fell from his hand with a clatter as they hit the tile floor. he could hear dave's voice, reassuring and firm, but could barely focus as memories flooded him.

"luther! luther, get off of me!" klaus screamed, suddenly eight years old again, his strong brother helping haul him into the mausoleum. his fingers latched onto the doors, trying to anchor himself so he could fight back against his brother's superhuman grip, only to find himself wailing as luther put him on the mausoleum floor with ease.

"klaus. klaus, you're okay. it's me, i'm here. you're safe, you're gonna be okay." dave's voice sounded distorted, like listening to music from the bottom of a pool. klaus continued to kick and scream, fingernails scrambling at dave's hands around his abdomen, leaving shallow scratches on his arms. 

one of dave's hands left his waist and for a second klaus thought he was going to be able to get free, only to have fingers shoved into his mouth. he gagged as dave swabbed his mouth like a dog eating plastic, checking for any pills klaus might've gotten. 

"okay. you didn't take any. you just need to calm down. you're working yourself up, baby." dave said, struggling to keep his grip as klaus continued to wrestle away from him. 

klaus didn't notice diego's presence until he had managed to get out of dave's grip, only to stumble straight into diego's arms unknowingly. 

"woah, okay. take it easy. just sit, sit down." diego said, helping klaus lower himself onto the tile floor, back against the ceramic tub. his face was flushed red with exhaustion. 

"what the hell happened?" diego asked, kneeling down beside his brother. 

"tried to relapse." dave answered, eyes not leaving his boyfriend, who had broken into sobs. 

tears streamed down the brunet man's face, and he mumbled something incoherent that might've been a 'please' or a curse. 

"it's okay. good boy, cry it out. it'll feel better." dave coaxed, raising a hand littered with scratches and red, developing bruises to klaus's face to hold his jaw, his thumb wiping the tears from his cheek affectionately.

klaus mumbled inaudibly, leaning into the touch. dave knew him better than anyone. even if he was absolutely broken, the touch and grounding of having someone else there with him was enough to soothe him.

"i'm gonna give y'all a moment alone. night." diego said, leaning against the doorway. dave nodded. 

"i-i need, p-please i can't-" klaus stuttered, hiccuping in between sobs. dave's expression turned into a frown, his hand leaving klaus's cheek to gently rub his leg. 

"you don't need them anymore, baby. they're not good for you." dave said softly, and klaus's eyes slowly met his. giant pupils contrasted fern-green irises, sadness pouring from his expression. 

"how about we go back to bed and go watch a movie, get something to eat and talk in the morning?" klaus nodded, wiping tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. 

we're gonna do this together, okay?" dave asked, a hand in klaus's sweaty brown locks as he looked seriously into klaus's eyes. the other man nodded, connecting their lips softly.

klaus decided in that moment, kissing on the bathroom floor, that he had a reason to get sober this time. the reason's name was dave.


End file.
